Tell Congress to Oppose Cuts to Wildlife Protections

The House of Representatives has left town for its summer recess, but not before unveiling a barrage of new anti-wildlife provisions in the Interior spending bill.

Just two weeks ago, tens of thousands of wildlife supporters joined together and successfully defeated the Extinction Rider on the Interior Department’s appropriations bill that would have threatened walruses, wolverines and other wildlife with extinction. We won that battle -- but the fight's not over.

These new provisions threaten wild Mexican gray wolves and endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles with extinction and pose a significant threat of increased injury and death for gentle manatees.

Speak out for imperiled animals. Write your representative now and urge him or her to oppose the interior spending bill.

Letter to

U.S. House of Representatives

As a constituent and a supporter of Defenders of Wildlife, I strongly urge you to OPPOSE the House Interior Appropriations bill.

This bill is an all-out attack on the natural treasures that are our children's inheritance. I specifically object to these amendments...

* Boat strikes are a leading cause of death for Florida's threatened manatees, but Representative Richard Nugent (FL) wants to block a Fish and Wildlife Service rule to prevent boat collisions and end the hazing of these gentle sea cows.

* Representative Jeff Denham (CA) has introduced an amendment to block restoration of salmon in the San Joaquin River.

* Representatives Paul Gosar (AZ) and Rob Bishop (UT) have proposed amendments that would exempt the border patrol from laws and regulations that protect imperiled wildlife and federal conservation lands like our national parks and wildlife refuges.

The bill also proposes deep cuts in funding for our National Wildlife Refuges and key conservation programs to keep our imperiled wildlife and wild lands safe.

Sacrificing our wildlife and environment in the name of fiscal austerity is unacceptable and could result in increased costs in the future to clean our air and water and keep us healthy. Please oppose this awful bill.

Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to your prompt reply.